I blinked, staring blankly at the tutorial window.
“Wash, dry, and… are you telling me to make chili powder from scratch by myself?”
Haetae opened one eye lazily and answered, “Why? You don’t wanna do it, nyan?”
“No, it’s not that… I mean, having homemade chili powder is great. It’s just overwhelming to do all of this right from the very beginning.”
“Chili powder made from peppers you harvested with your own hands will taste entirely different, nyan.”
Having said his piece, Haetae closed his eyes again. Muttering under my breath about how easy he had it, I turned my attention to the pile of freshly harvested peppers.
Scratching the bridge of my nose, I scanned the peppers lined up before me.
[Chili Pepper Imbued with Sun’s Energy (Rank S)] [Delicious Chili Pepper (Rank A)] [Ordinary Chili Pepper (Rank B)]
‘Looks like I can see everything clearly now.’
After completing the first phase of the tutorial, the ranks and conditions of the ingredients—which had only appeared intermittently before—were now vividly visible.
Memories flashed through my mind of my time at the restaurant, wandering the early-morning wholesale markets and searching all across the country just to source the absolute best ingredients.
A satisfied smile touched my lips as I patted my aching lower back.
“Alright then. Let me give this a shot.”
I grabbed a few sack bags from the shop’s storage and sorted the peppers by rank. After carrying them all out into the yard, I filled a large red basin with water and took a brief moment to catch my breath.
Wiping the sweat off my forehead with my forearm, I looked up at the sky.
‘It’s been so long since I last worked up a sweat like this.’
I used to sweat just as much in the restaurant kitchen, but nobody back then ever appreciated it.
Bittersweet memories began to creep back into my head, but I shook my head to brush the thoughts away.
‘That’s all in the past.’
Plunging my hands into the cool water, I gently rubbed the surface of the peppers clean. As I scooped them out into a bamboo basket, they glistened in the sunlight, coated in glistening water droplets.
People mostly used dehydrators these days, but there was no way a traditional side dish shop would have something like that.
So in the end, I decided to do it by hand, exactly the way Grandma used to.
‘Jigu, dear. Once you wash the peppers clean, you have to wipe the moisture off thoroughly so mold doesn’t grow. And it’s best to split them in half so they dry well under the sun.’
It felt as though Grandma’s voice was echoing softly right beside my ear.
For nearly an hour, I stayed bent over, painstakingly wiping down all five hundred peppers one by one. Seeing the glossy, shining peppers lined up, an involuntary smile of pride spread across my face.
“Phew, all done!”
I stretched my arms overhead, working out the stiffness in my shoulders. Now all that was left was the drying process.
Laying a large waterproof tarp flat across the yard, I meticulously spread the peppers out so none of them overlapped. If they stacked, those spots would just stay damp.
The moment I finished, the translucent window floated into view.
[Wash and dry the peppers in the yard (40%)]
‘There’s still 60% left? Ah, right. I have to split them.’
Fetching a pair of scissors from the kitchen, I began snipping off the stems and slicing the peppers down the middle. I had to brace myself for the inevitable sting in my fingers.
“Hyangsook taught you well, nyan.”
Having woken up at some point, Haetae sauntered over, swishing his tail as he circled around me.
“Right? Grandma used to teach me all sorts of things when I was little.”
Even though having a young granddaughter trailing around must have been tedious, Grandma had patiently taught me every little detail.
“She was just passing down what I taught her, nyan.”
“…Grandma’s secret techniques were originally yours?”
“Exactly! I am Hyangsook’s master, nyan.”
My eyes widened at Haetae’s boast.
“Really?”
“Of course. How else do you think she learned all that, nyan?”
“…I honestly thought my grandma was just a genius.”
“Huh, nyan?”
I let out a soft smile and continued.
“Ever since I was little, Grandma was a genius to me, and she was my whole world. She was like a wizard who could whip up anything out of nowhere. But to think there was such a wonderful master behind her all along… I had no idea.”
At the word ‘master,’ Haetae’s ears perked straight up. His tail shot high up into the air.
“Is that a compliment, nyan?”
“Should I take it back then?”
“How can you take back a compliment, nyan?!”
“Haha. Just kidding, just kidding.”
Engaging in silly banter with the puffed-up Haetae, I didn’t even realize I had reached the very last pepper in my hand.
I carefully split open the last pepper and laid it flat on the tarp.
“Achew! A-choo…!”
Even as a fit of sneers broke out from the spicy air, a proud smile remained pinned to my lips.
Now all that remained was to toss this aching body onto a bed.
Yet Haetae kept lingering in front of me as if he had something left to say.
“Why are you acting like that?”
“Aren’t you giving me lunch, nyan? My belly is stuck to my spine, nyan!”
…Right. Food. I had completely forgotten about it.
“Sorry. I’m just so exhausted… Can’t I cook for you after I get some sleep?”
My eyelids felt like lead right now. But Haetae let out a sharp hiss, expressing his dissatisfaction with his entire body.
“If you woke me up, you’re responsible for feeding me, nyan.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll make it for you right now.”
“Make it quick, nyan!”
Haetae turned away haughtily, walked over to the shop’s back door, and gave it a light tap with his paw.
“Open it, nyan!”
It was silent pressure to open the door and get to cooking immediately. Laughing softly at his imposing back, I pushed myself up.
“I’m coming, I’m coming…!”
-Wake up! You have to wake up! You are the hero of Korea!
The loud smartphone alarm forced my eyelids open.
‘Right, I’m the pride of Korea…’
Blink, blink.
Rubbing my stiff eyes, I looked around.
I hadn’t even managed to make it into the bedroom; I had fallen asleep right in the kitchen. After feeding Haetae…
My eyes began to flutter shut again.
Having slept for only two hours, I couldn’t keep them open.
“Aren’t you getting up, nyan?”
The squishy sensation of something poking me right in the middle of my cheek made me open my eyes. It was Haetae’s paw pad.
“You didn’t go back to the pocket dimension?”
“You locked the door, nyan!”
Ah. After feeding him, I was so dead tired that I locked the back door, leaving Haetae trapped inside the shop.
“Sorry about that.”
“Hmph, nyan.”
Chasing away my lingering sleepiness, I gently stroked Haetae’s back. The feel of his soft fur slipping between my fingers lifted my mood.
Right on cue—
With a crisp ding, the tutorial quest notification popped up.
[Wash and dry the peppers in the yard (60%)]
Gradually coming to my senses as I looked around, I tilted my head.
“…Why is it so dark?”
The sun had been high in the sky when I fell asleep, but outside the window, it was already pitch dark like evening.
“Hurry up and get up, nyan! Dark clouds are rolling in, nyan. That’s why I woke you up, nyan.”
“What, dark clouds…!”
I bolted right up. It would be a total disaster if the peppers I had worked so hard to dry got soaked in rain.
“Thanks, Haetae!”
At the same time, I scooped Haetae up in my arms and sprinted toward the shop’s back door.
“P-Put me down, nyan!”
“Just hold on for a second!”
I felt like I would only feel reassured if someone was by my side.
Reaching the shop’s yard, I gasped for air and raised my head. Clouds were gathering one after another, quickly blanketing the entire sky.
Rain was going to pour down any second now.
“Ah!”
Dark clouds were covering the sky at a frightening speed. A cold, damp wind began to blow. Downpour was imminent.
I set Haetae down on the ground and rolled up my sleeves.
‘I have to move them!’
The only proper place to put them was inside the shop. Grabbing both ends of the tarp, I wrapped up the peppers and began struggling to drag them indoors.
Just then, heavy drops began to patter against the yard awning—pitter, patter.
“Ugh! Cold!”
The cold rain striking the top of my head instantly snapped me to full alertness.
Grit my teeth, I didn’t stop until every last pepper was safely brought inside the shop before collapsing flat onto the floor.
Sweat and rainwater mixed together, pouring down my entire body. I didn’t even have the strength left to wiggle a single finger.
“Haaa…”
“Good job, nyan.”
Haetae walked over and nudged my thigh with his front paw. At his words, a smirk broke out on my face.
“If it weren’t for you, I’d have been in huge trouble. Farming really isn’t for just anyone.”
“Dealing with nature is always the hardest work of all, nyan.”
Now I finally understood firsthand why vegetable prices fluctuated so wildly every season.
“Still, the chili powder made after all this trouble is bound to taste amazing, nyan.”
Haetae lightly tapped a pepper that was slightly damp from the rain as he spoke. A strange look of genuine pride lingered in the cat’s eyes as he looked at me.
“These little guys will recognize your hard work, nyan. Vegetables are honest; they repay you with flavor according to how much care you give them.”
“My hard work, huh…”
Would they really recognize it?
“I hope so.”
Except for Grandma, those were words I had never heard from anyone before.
I quietly picked up the pepper that had been lightly brushed by raindrops. The water droplets clinging to its red skin felt almost like the warmth of a living creature.
“Vegetables don’t lie, nyan.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s right, nyan.”
Just then, looking at the quest window hovering in front of my eyes, I let out a hollow laugh.
[Wash and dry the peppers in the yard (55%)]
Because they got wet in the rain, the progress had dropped by 5%.
And just like that, grappling with the alternating rain and sunshine, a full week flew by.
Every morning at sunrise, I laid the peppers out in the yard, and every evening, I brought them back inside the shop. In between those moments, I swept and scrubbed the shop clean.
Grandma’s hand-worn kitchenware began to glisten with a bright polish, and the peppers in the yard—after overcoming several near-disasters—were dried to a perfect, crispy finish thanks to the abundant sunlight.
[Wash and dry the peppers in the yard (99%)]
Now only the final 1% remained. Calling out loudly toward the pocket dimension entrance, I shouted, “Haetae! Come do the final inspection, please!”
“Are they all dried, nyan?”
“Yep! Check it out!”
Appearing with a yawn, I held up crisp, well-dried peppers in both hands and shook them gently before Haetae.
“Nyaaaang!”
In that instant, Haetae’s eyes went wide, and he popped right up onto his hind legs. Then, like a wild beast stalking prey, he swiped his front paws wildly at the crispy peppers in my hands.
“Oh ho?”
My playful side kicked in, and I shifted the dried pepper to the left.
“Nyan-nyan!”
Haetae’s body tilted left as he batted at the pepper like a predator. Seeing him flounder after the pepper, unable to hide his feline instincts, made me burst into laughter.
“Oho? Looks like even a Divine Beast can’t escape cat instincts.”
I thought a divine beast wouldn’t have cat habits, but a cat was still a cat after all.
Snapping back to his senses at my teasing, Haetae spoke fiercely.
“…Are you making fun of me right now, nyan?”
“No, I was just shaking it to check if it dried well.”
With a pouting expression, Haetae carefully examined every single dried pepper.
“Ahem. They are dried well, nyan. It’s a pass, nyan.”
No sooner had Haetae given his approval than the translucent window flashed brilliantly like bursting fireworks.
[Tutorial: 2. Completed ‘Wash and dry the peppers in the yard’.]
And the tutorial didn’t end there.
[Tutorial: 3. Make kimchi using the chili powder! (0/1)]
Now I’m supposed to make kimchi…?
